


I Can Show You

by purplehippoking



Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: AU, Adult!Hope, F/M, Hopurai - Freeform, hoperai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 22:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3546065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplehippoking/pseuds/purplehippoking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And that is how Hope found himself on his knees, shirtless, and in between Lightning’s legs…yet again." Hopurai and kind of a cracky fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Show You

**Author's Note:**

> My cousin requested me to write a story based on a dream I had a few weeks ago. It involved belly buttons and it was very strange....I hope they aren't too out of character.
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters owned by Square Enix

Hope had been living with Lightning or Claire as most chose to call her, for a while now. Once they had found each other, they became inseparable. Maybe it was the centuries of separation, but he knew he couldn’t bear to be without her for more than one day.

 

He _had_ to know that she was safe.

 

That she was _real._

 

That she wouldn’t slip right through his fingers as the rose haired phantom did once before.

 

Hope had to constantly remind himself that it was the work of the destroyed God; that it was just Bhunivelze playing with his emotions.

 

Which then brought Hope to wondering. What exactly were his emotions?

 

It was perfectly normal and acceptable to feel this sort of attachment towards Lightning. She was after all his mentor. He grew up to be a strong leader during the Crystal age thanks to her guidance.

 

Without her, he was nothing.

 

He would just be a scared little boy who probably would have died a L’Cie.

 

It was he that suggested, albeit nervously, that they should just move in together. Of course they were nothing more than friends…if not, best friends.

 

They were partners once. It wouldn’t be strange at all to move in together.

In fact it was the logical decision.

 

If he wasn’t staying at her apartment, she was over at his place.

It would save them so much financially by just moving in together.

 

To the silver haired man’s surprise, she agreed. No questions asked.

She took a moment to think about it. Then she gave him that smile that was only reserved for him (or at least he liked to think it was just for him, he never saw Lightning give a smile like that to anyone else).

 

_“Sure.”_

It had been a little over a month since they started living together and a routine was already in the works.

 

Hope would usually wake up first to catch a train to the institution. It was an unspoken rule that whoever woke up first would be the one to make breakfast, coffee for Ms. Farron and tea for him. Hope was currently weaning himself off of coffee; they gave him crazy headaches and the worst jitters in the world.

 

The two would be gone for most of the day, each working their individual jobs in the new world. Lightning had a job as a trainer at a nearby gym and she was also a fencing instructor. Hope on the other hand pursued a career in the sciences. He was a lead researcher and technician at the university. Occasionally he would teach a class or the higher ups would ask him to be a T.A., but for the most part he was in his office with his head in a book or getting his hands dirty in the laboratory.

 

Lightning would always be the first to come home and Hope would follow an hour or more later. More times than she could count, he would come home hours late. Mr. Estheim had a habit of losing himself in his work. This prompted Lightning into suggesting that they at least try to make it home before 9pm every night, to at least have dinner and to catch up or vent (in Lightning’s case) about their days.

 

And so the story begins.

 

It was just a normal Monday night. Hope had just come home from his long workday. He was shaking with anticipation. He had just made a great discovery and was just bursting at the seams. He had to share this news with Lightning.

 

Most of the time, his stories didn’t make sense to her at all, but she loved the glow in his eyes when he told her. She had many questions of course and Hope gladly answered them all. For his most exciting stories (at least exciting to him), he resembled a hyperactive puppy.

 

Lightning had a weakness for a few things: cute things and as much as she hated to admit…. the man she currently lived with.

 

The former soldier wasn’t all too great in the kitchen. In fact, she preferred grilling on their balcony. She had gotten home early and prepared a couple of steaks for the two.  She took a glance at the clock and it was five minutes until 9.

 

Lightning took a seat at the table and kept her eyes glued to the door.

 

Any minute now, the chain would jiggle and her hyperactive puppy would be home.

 

She took another look at the watch.

 

“ _3….2…..1…”_ She smiled to herself.

 

The door chain jiggled and as if on cue, she saw green eyes peek through the crack of the door.

 

“You’re later than usual,” she commented as she walked over to unchain the door.

 

Hope smiled at her sheepishly once the door was open. It was true; he had been good for the past week. He had been coming home a few minutes before 8, but today he had gotten carried away with his research.

 

“Guess who made the discovery of the year?!” he exclaimed happily as he took his shoes off.

Thus began his longwinded explanation of what went on in the lab today.

 

After dinner, they always shared a pot of tea together as they watched a bit of T.V.

 

One minute they were having tea like they normally did, before going to their _separate_ ways into their own _individual_ beds.

 

The next minute Hope found himself shirtless, on his knees hovering over a scantily clad Lightning. His lips were achingly close to her belly button, trailing kisses closer and closer to their destination.

 

_This was not part of their routine._

_…At all._

How they got there, he had no idea. The only thing that was on his mind was how absolutely stunning she looked and the feel of her soft skin under his lips.

 

She didn’t seem to mind either. She was actually being pretty vocal about how good she felt too.

 

His lips reached their destination.

 

_Her belly button._

 

And his tongue went straight for the piercing, playing around with it in his mouth. He was getting a rhythm going when suddenly, the woman he was currently on top of, Lightning, gave a sharp tug on his hair.

 

This brought the silver haired man’s attention away from the belly piercing and back to the woman.

 

She had a glassy look in her eyes and it looked like she was ready to attack him.

Not that he minded.

 

In fact, he welcomed it.

 

He ran a hand through his hair, anticipation pumping through his veins.

 

Lightning sat up and got on her knees.  She was ready to pounce him.

 

She licked her lips and—

 

_BRRRRRRNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!_

Hope shot straight up from his bed.

He ran a hand roughly down his face.

 

“What the hell?” he found himself whispering.

 

He took a moment to look around him.

 

He was in his room.

 

He was fully clothed, well he had his normal sleepwear on; it consisted of no shirt and a pair of jogging pants.

 

And to his greatest disappointment, but also relief…he was alone.

 

After confirming that it was indeed a dream, Hope looked down at himself…specifically his nether regions.

 

Even though he was in the confines of his own room, he felt blood rush to his face.

He couldn’t meet Lightning like this.

 

Hope ran a nervous hand through his hair. It would be a different story if they had work today, but it was a Saturday. They had both agreed to have at least one day off together.

 

It was just his luck to have such a…taboo dream of his roommate.

 

There was no denying that he found Lightning attractive and that he was undeniably in love with her, but the fear of losing her was greater than the desire to pursue a romantic relationship with her.

 

 

She was the closest person to him in this world.

 

He wasn’t going to lose her again.

 

Besides, she probably didn’t see him the same way.

 

“Shit shit shit shit shit,” he fiercely whispered to himself. How could he face her now after dreaming such indecent things revolving around her?

 

The shame he felt was unbearable as he rose from his bed. His eyes glanced at the clock.

 

It was 9:30.

 

On days off, Lightning would usually wake up at ten. He had 30 minutes to compose himself.

 

He had 30 minutes to erase any trace of his dream from his mind.

 

To erase the feel of her skin under his lips and the look of total want in her eyes when she looked at him.

 

He felt a shiver run down his back and found himself getting aroused again.

This was not a good thing.

 

Hope shook his head clear of his thoughts and decided that a shower would be the best thing for him right now.

 

The silver haired man gave out a grown in exasperation. In his rush to the bathroom, he had forgotten to grab himself a change of clothes.

 

He had no choice but to walk out in his towel. Upon opening the door he could smell the sweet aroma of French Roast coffee.

 

 _She_ was awake.

 

He gulped and made a mad dash to his bedroom. He couldn’t face her just yet.

 

When he made it to his room, he quickly pulled on a pair of boxers.

 

As he was pulling his shirt on, he heard the door creak open and was met with Lightning, her hand in a fist, as if to knock on the door.

 

Hope froze in place.

 

As did Lightning.

 

“I…uh….ahem….I made you tea,” she managed to say as she turned around to leave.

 

Maybe it was just his imagination, but he could have sworn that there was a slight pink twinge on her cheeks.

 

The thought made his heart flutter, but at the same time, made his stomach drop.

 

First the dream, then she sees him in such a compromising state of undress.

 

Today was going to be _loads_ of fun.

 

Once he was properly dressed, he made his way to the kitchen.

 

Lightning had her cup of coffee and a newspaper covering her face from his view. He thought that this was a good thing. He didn’t know if he could meet her eyes just yet. As he was about to say his good morning, Lightning cleared her throat.

 

“ _Ahem_..sorry about that…I didn’t know that my knock would er…push the door open..ahem.”

 

Hope chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry about it, I probably should have shut the door properly,” he cleared his throat.

 

“Thanks for the tea, Light.”

 

Lightning chanced a peek over her newspaper.

“Of course.”

 

“So we’re supposed to meet Snow and Serah at noon for lunch?” he asked to confirm their plans for the day.

 

They made it a habit to meet up with the others at least once a month. Snow and Serah were the closest to them so they saw each other at least every two weeks.

 

It was almost 11 and Hope still couldn’t meet her eyes. Every time his eyes made their way to her, they drifted down to her belly button.

 

It was almost like Lightning knew that he had the dream. She had opted to wear a crop top that day that perfectly showed off her piercing and that damn belly button.

 

Hope found himself staring, his face quickly turning red as he urgently turned his head towards the door.

 

Lightning didn’t think much of it, but was beginning to feel that she had done something wrong. It couldn’t be because of the incident earlier? Could it…?

 

They lived in a penthouse in the middle of the city. The bar they were to meet the other two for lunch was a 15-minute walk away.

 

Hope was dreading the walk. He just knew that it would be filled with awkward silences and avoiding her gaze.

 

 

They started their short journey to the bar. From the outside, it looked as if they were enjoying companionable silence, but Hope could just feel the awkwardness. He didn’t know how to act around her, which was completely irrational.

 

It was after all just a dream.

 

But the shame he felt was too much for him to bottle in.

He _had_ to tell someone.

 

Serah was out of the question, but Snow on the other hand…as much as he hated to admit it…could be a great listener.  

 

Once lunch was over, Serah suggested (if Hope believed in a God, he would surely be thanking one right now) that Lightning and her catch up while shopping and the boys could stay at the bar.

 

Hope nodded his head and agreed with more enthusiasm that was characteristic of him. Lightning raised a brow, but shrugged her shoulders. She could never say no to Serah.

 

Once the girls were gone, Snow was instantly on him.

“So..can I call you little bro yet?” He had his trademark smirk on him.

 

Hope groaned loudly as his head ungraciously hit the bar counter.

“How many times do I have to tell you that we’re nothing more than friends? _At least in her eyes.._ ” he muttered pathetically.

 

Hope felt a sharp slap on his back, Snow probably didn’t mean for it to be so hard, but he appreciated the gesture anyhow. The silver haired man turned his head towards his companion. His current position was pathetic. Here he was, a world-renowned scientist, sitting in a bar, moping about a wet dream he had of his best friend, whom he was also irrevocably in love with.

 

Snow looked at Hope expectantly. He wasn’t all too good with advice, but he could see the kid was suffering. Sure he was older than him in this world, but to Snow, he’d always be the kid he met back in Cocoon.

 

Hope gave a sigh and began his story.

 

After a few moments of laughing at the silver haired man’s story, Snow cleared his throat.

 

“So let me get this straight. You have your panties in a twist because of a _wet dream_ you had of Sis and let me emphasize the _dream_ part.”

 

Hope nodded his head. It sounded all too pathetic out loud. He went for the glass of beer in front of him and took a long, hard, gulp. “Don’t forget about how she walked in on me while I was in the middle of changing…” he mumbled.

 

Snow couldn’t stop the reel of laughter that came after that. He glanced over at the clock, it was already almost 6 and the girls still weren’t back. It looked like Snow would have to do the kid a favor; get him so drunk that he forgets about the mess of his dream or maybe the liquid courage would give him the _real_ courage to confess his feelings to Sis.

 

It was so obvious that even Dajh could see it..then again the kid was pretty intuitive.

 

Snow cleared his throat. “How about this? Drinks are on me. You can drink away all that shame,” he finished with a laugh and a sharp elbow into Hope’s side.

 

Hope knew it was a bad idea, but drinking away all the shame sounded like the best idea he’d heard all day. He wasn’t much of a drinker, so he assumed he’d pass out right when they got home. In his mind, it was the perfect solution. He wouldn’t have to face Lightning at all…at least soberly he didn’t.

 

A few cups of beer and many shots later, Snow was satisfied with his work. He had gotten Hope Estheim, a world-renowned scientist, drunk out of his mind. It was one thing he could cross off his bucket list. The next thing on his bucket list was to be the best man at Hope and Sis’s wedding. That would surely come next.

 

At this point Hope had completely forgotten about his current worries. The shame was gone, but at the expense of a few brain cells.

 

At this point Hope was sputtering complete nonsense on what he would do for science and developing ridiculous experiments that no one in their right mind would even try.

 

Snow was surprised at how much the guy could drink.

 

Hope had gotten one more shot in before Snow, being the responsible future brother in law he was, cut him off. It was just in time too. The girls had come back with their arms full of bags.

 

If one knew Lightning well enough, they could easily spot the slight grimace on her face. The grimace quickly made it’s way to full form when Hope…stumbled himself towards her and planted a wet, drunken kiss on her forehead.

 

“W’lcme baaaack Liiiighhht~!” he managed to slur out. “Lemme carry those m’bags for ya,” he said as he tried to take some bags from Lightning’s arms, but instead stumbled backwards. If it weren’t for Snow’s quick movement, the world-renowned scientist would surely be on his ass, a drunken mess on the ground.

Snow steadied the shorter man, who just decided that Snow was a wall he could melt himself onto. Serah gave him a questioning look to which Snow just replied with a wink.

 

Now, Lightning on the other hand was ready to blow. Her face was turning red (probably from the impromptu kiss) and her fists were ready to start a bar fight.

 

“Just what the hell did you do to him..?!” she sneered as she took a dangerous step towards Snow. It was a good thing that he was supporting the drunken man, if he wasn’t…he would more than likely be sporting a black eye…or two.

 

Snow half dragged Hope down to a booth before he faced his sister in law’s fiery gaze. He gave her a charming smile and shrugged. “He seemed stressed out, so I decided to help him. I felt bad for the kid.”

 

“So you got him drunk,” Lightning deadpanned. She couldn’t believe it. Serah and her had only been gone for a few hours and Snow had irresponsibly gotten Hope completely shit-faced wasted. She couldn’t believe it..at all.

 

Sure, he was a grown man, but still!

 

She made a promise to protect him. What kind of protector was she if she couldn’t even keep him in the right state of mind? Lightning wanted to punch Snow. She really did, but for the sake of her sister, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and gave big huff. She could deal with him later.

 

The bigger problem was the drunken man who was currently laughing to himself on the booth. _How was she going to get him home like that?_

 

Lightning ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

“ _You,”_ she sneered at Snow. “You’re carrying him back to the apartment.” With that, she turned around and made her way out the door.

 

Once the group made their way back to Hope and Lightning’s penthouse, Snow dropped Hope onto the couch. Serah said her goodbyes and chuckled at the silver haired man’s state. Snow gave Lightning a cheeky smile. “Go easy on the kid, he’s going through a lot,” he said with a wink.

 

That wink unnerved her.

 

When the other two were gone, Lightning made her way back to the living room, where Hope was currently laying. He wasn’t on the couch anymore, but on the floor, staring at the ceiling muttering to himself. Even in his drunken state, he hadn’t met her eyes.

 

Her mind flashed back to that wet drunken kiss and she felt her face heat up. Lightning took a deep breath and made her way to sit on the couch.

 

Hope didn’t think he was as drunk as he looked. He felt so much freer. His inhibitions were gone, his fear was gone and, maybe..just maybe..well, actually a few brain cells were too.

 

He didn’t know whether he should thank Snow or curse him.

 

His head twitched towards her direction when he felt her presence. He knew if he didn’t tell her now, the shame would stay with him and the awkwardness may even drive her away. His inebriated state couldn’t bear that thought.

 

He shot up to a sitting position, a bit too fast. He had to take a few moments to focus the spinning world to a slight tipping. He cleared his throat.

 

 **“I licked your belly button in my dream,”** he found himself saying with no trouble or slurs at all. If he thought he felt free a few moments ago, he was certainly flying now. The weight of shame was gone from his chest! He was a bird flying through the skies, without any human worries.

 

At his bold statement, Lightning felt her jaw drop and a state of confusion was evident on her face. “I-I-I’m sorry? W-what?” she managed to stutter. She couldn’t have heard him right. It was definitely just something drunk people did. They said stupid things, but then again…it could explain the awkwardness she had been feeling between the two of them.

 

“I can show you,” he found himself half whispering.

 

After an eternity of staring at him with her eyes wide open. Millions of thoughts were going through her mind; first and foremost, her feelings towards the silver haired man.  She had a deep connection and attachment towards him. She would do anything to protect him and knew without a question that he would do the same for her. They were after all partners. They had decided this centuries ago. Sure it was a new world, but they were old souls. The memories she made with him and the promises they made stayed with them. Was that what love was?

 

She had never given much thought to love before, but she couldn’t think of anyone else she’d rather spend the rest of her life with.

 

It wasn’t that Hope wasn’t attractive because she had to admit; he grew up to be a very handsome young man. Most of the time he was the serious professional that the world saw, but she was privy to the hyperactive puppy he was when he was at home. Her mind flashed back to the wet kiss at the bar. She felt her heart beat a bit faster and she decided to hell with it.

 

She was Lightning Farron. She was a former warrior of Etro. She never ran from a challenge before.

 

And that is how Hope found himself on his knees, shirtless, and in between Lightning’s legs…yet again.

 

This time, it didn’t stop and she did pounce him.

 

Hope rolled over onto his stomach with a groan. His head was pounding and he could vaguely remember what happened last night. He did remember drinking with Snow _(note to self, never drink with Snow…no matter how desperate)._ Another thing he remembered was having a repeat of that same dream, the dream that gave him so much shame that he couldn’t meet Lightning.

 

_It was a dream…right?_

 

After a few more minutes, Hope opened his eyes and instantly found himself in an unfamiliar area. This was not his room.

 

It was too clean.

 

The desk had no papers or books scattered on it. The floor was spotless, save for a pair of boots and clothes scattered—

 

Hope shot up, ignoring the pounding headache and looked at the clothes in the room. He picked up a black garment.

 

There was no mistaking it.

 

They were his boxers.

 

He gulped and was suddenly very afraid to look to his left.

 

He could feel the presence of something warm next to him.

 

_It had to have been a dream…there was no way—_

 

The figure beside him let out a soft moan and snuggled deeper into the bed. His eyes had to have been playing tricks on him because he could have sworn that the figure in the bed had rose-colored hair that resembled his roommate’s…

 

Hope took a better look around the room and at the boots near the doorway. He found himself gulping again.

 

_They were Lightning’s._

He found his hand slowly making their way to the blanket covering the person next to him. Slowly, he peeled it off and lo and behold…it was none other than _Lightning Farron._

 

Who, much to Hope’s satisfaction, was in the same state of dress as he. Hope ran a hand through his hair and concluded that last night was _not_ a dream. That he had ‘licked’ his former mentor’s belly button and more than likely slept with her…according to the current state of dress.

 

At that thought, Hope found himself dropping back to the bed with a slight plop. He couldn’t believe it.

 

He was drunk.

 

The first time with her and he was completely inebriated.

 

 

He was shit-faced, drunk off of his ass **wasted**.

 

He took the pillow from under his head and put it over his face. If he were lucky, he’d magically smother himself then and there.

 

With morbid thoughts playing through his head, he felt his bed companion snuggle closer to him and the pillow was suddenly off of his face and he was met with icy blue eyes.

 

Lightning lifted her hand and Hope was prepared to meet his end. He shut his eyes, but was surprised to feel a soft flick.

 

“You’re an idiot,” she muttered.

 

Hope slowly opened his eyes, surprised that he didn’t have a bloody nose or a black eye. He probably deserved it too.

 

He looked at Lightning questioningly.

 

“Next time, we’re doing it sober…. you--you almost tore my piercing out with your mouth…” she muttered as she refused to meet his eyes. There was a pink tint creeping its way to her cheeks.

 

At that moment, he knew that all would be well and rather than curse Snow…he should thank him.

 

 


End file.
